Former deputy PM Tim Fischer dies aged 73

Tim Fischer dies

Former deputy PM Tim Fischer (R) has died after a decade-long battle with cancer.Credit: AAP

Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer is being remembered as a "big Australian" with big passion and a big vision for his country.

Mr Fischer died at the Albury-Wodonga Cancer Centre on Thursday, surrounded by close family members.

The 73-year-old had been fighting acute leukemia for the past 10 months, and cancer generally for the past decade.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the former Nationals leader as a dear friend who would be sorely missed.

"Tim Fischer was a big Australian in every sense of the word," Mr Morrison said.

"Big in stature, big in his belief, big in his passion, big in his vision for what Australians could achieve, and big in his view of Australia's place in the world.

The prime minister has offered Mr Fischer's family - wife Judy and sons Harrison and Dominic - a state funeral.

He described him as an "all-in conviction politician."

"Thank you Tim, we loved you very much," Mr Morrison said.

After returning from a tour of duty in Vietnam, the former soldier entered the NSW state parliament at 24 before being elected to federal parliament in 1984, leading the federal Nationals from 1990 to 1999.

He was deputy prime minister in John Howard's government from 1996 to 1999.

Mr Howard described Mr Fischer as an "authentic Australian in so many different ways".

"He was able to identify the broader national picture, even on issues that mightn't immediately be appealing to his own constituency," he told 2GB Radio.

Mr Fischer notably supported Mr Howard in staring down his own angry rural constituents during the introduction of Australia's tough gun laws following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

"There are many Australians who are alive today because of legislation change, because of that tough decision that Tim Fischer took, that courage that he showed," Nationals leader Michael McCormack said.